The vet check for Jaz, Tink, Simon and Sophie went well. They are improving. In fact, they look so much better (and larger) that the vet and staff at the shelter were joking that they did not even recognize them as my kittens.
I have been able to stop giving them fluids by IV each day and just monitor their hydration instead. So far, they have been hydrated and active and eating. The vet said to continue their antibiotics for another week just as a precaution against a relapse, but that they were much better. She actually seemed surprised that they had all made it to this point and that they were the sickest kittens that she had seen in a while that pulled through the illness rather than needing to be euthanized. It has been a lot of hard work, worry and stress, but definitely worth it to see four mostly healthy kittens playing together in the foster room. The vet actually told me that I saved their lives. It was a great feeling and went a long way toward curing my burn out.
They are still not totally out of the woods yet because they could relapse now that they are only on one medication rather than 3-4 and fluids and they still need more socialization before they can be adopted out. But, as the title of this post says, I am now cautiously optimistic that they will all get their chance at a forever home.
10/24/09
10/19/09
Burnt Out
Well, things have been crazy here at the animal house lately. I have had quite a few fosters in the past month or so and all of them have been very sick. I am currently down to four kittens that are struggling to recover from pneumonia for the second time in as many months. I love fostering very much, but after this last bunch, I am in need of a break so these will be my last fosters for at least a short while. I will update here as I learn of adoptions of the most recent fosters, but otherwise I will be on hiatus until I start fostering again. Don't get me wrong, I will still be doing fostering in the very near future because I know I will miss it as soon as my house is empty, but I think I need at least a week or so off. So here are the updates as of today:
Silvermist - is healthy and happy. She was spayed and went to her forever home on Saturday
Jewel - went to another foster home to finish recovering from her cold so that she could not catch pneumonia from my other guys. She has also recovered and was adopted on Sunday.
Marley, Nugget, Cali and Sophie - initially came to my home to be sure they were eating enough. They were old enough to be adopted, but the shelter manager suspected that they did not like the shelter food and needed something different. She was right. They were also transferred to another foster home to avoid pneumonia. They did have a slight cold so they will stay with their new foster mom while they are on meds.
Christopher - was a small black kitten that came home with me with some mild cold symptoms and then stopped eating and continued to get sick. Despite medications, force feeding and fluids he just continued to get worse. Last week I had to make the hard decision to bring him back to the shelter to be euthanized. He was in pain and too weak to stand up anymore. I was devastated by this because he was not one of the sickest ones that I was prepared to lose. He is also the first of my fosters that did not make it. I wish him the best as he plays with all the other pets at the rainbow bridge.
Pumpkin and Patch - are two orphaned baby kittens brought in my animal control. They were about 2 weeks old. One was orange and one was calico. I took them home to bottle feed them for the first 48 hours that they were with the shelter. I am an emergency bottle fed foster person. Kittens that young have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock. I can not do this long term, but since I do not currently work, I have the ability to go in on short notice to pick up a bottle fed kitten and take care of it until one of the regular bottle fed homes and come and get it. This was the case with pumpkin and patch. They are both doing well and growing in the new foster home.
Parker and Dana - These were two kittens born to a very very sick mother cat in the shelter. Her foster mother brought her in because she has gone into labor and already lost two kittens. We thought she was done delivery and set her up in a crate in an office to watch her. I left my drink in the office because I was distracted. When I went back a few hours later to get it, I could hear a kitten crying. I immediately searched for the kitten and found that the mother had managed to clean it and was keeping it warm, but it was not nursing. I grabbed a staff member who realized that the mother was so sick, she had no milk. We took the kitten, who I later named Parker, and I started bottle feeding it. I took it home that night and brought it back to the shelter the next day to continue bottle feeding while I was volunteering. Just as we were all getting ready to go home that night, I decided to check on the mom and tell her how her baby was doing. When I went it and went to pet mom, I saw a little tail sticking out from underneath her. It was another kitten. It was still wet and very cold. We managed to get it warm in the incubator and feed it a little. We all knew it was a long shot, but we had to try. That kitten I named Dana. Dana did survive the night with me since I took the incubator home, but I am sad to say that Dana did not make it once he/she was transferred to another foster home. Dana was just too sick and too little to survive outside an incubator. Parker however, is not only doing well, we were able to place him with a mother that just had a litter. The mother accepted him and treats him as one of her own which is the best thing for him. He and his new family is not with me, but I will update when I hear more. Parker and Dana's mom is also recovering slowly in one of the offices at the shelter.
Jaz, Simon, Sophie and Tink - these are the babies (who are over 8 weeks now) that have pneumonia for the second time in as many months. They are also the reason all of my other fosters were sent to other homes. We did not want the other to get pneumonia and could not take the chance that the babies would get exposed to even one more virus. They are slowly, very slowly, improving. It is still touch and go as to whether or not they will all pull through. They are on tons of medications and I am giving them IV fluids every day. Three of them are also still mostly feral and as you can imagine, all this medical care is not helping them learn to like humans. Sophie who was the runt of the litter is actually the healthiest and most social. I have high hopes that she will soon be well enough to go up for adoption. I think that Tink and Simon will pull through the illness, but am concerned about them being socialized the older they get. Jaz has lost a lot of weight and is very tiny. She is in the most danger of not making it through the pneumonia. They see the vet again this coming Friday. Depending on how they are doing, we will have to decide if we continue such intensive treatment, or if it is time to let them go. They have had intensive medical treatment for over a month now. Of course I want them to pull through and go to good homes, but at some point you have to think if we are treating them just to keep them alive because we do not want to lose them or if it is kinder to let them go. hey were actually looking a little better yesterday, so I am cautiously hopeful that we will have a positive outcome for them.
As I said - it has been crazy here in the animal house. I am sure you can see why I need a break. Although I have to say, even with everything that is going on lately, fostering is still one of the best, most rewarding things I have ever done. And I will be back with updates on these guys and information on new fosters once I start fostering again. I doubt I will be gone long. :)
Silvermist - is healthy and happy. She was spayed and went to her forever home on Saturday
Jewel - went to another foster home to finish recovering from her cold so that she could not catch pneumonia from my other guys. She has also recovered and was adopted on Sunday.
Marley, Nugget, Cali and Sophie - initially came to my home to be sure they were eating enough. They were old enough to be adopted, but the shelter manager suspected that they did not like the shelter food and needed something different. She was right. They were also transferred to another foster home to avoid pneumonia. They did have a slight cold so they will stay with their new foster mom while they are on meds.
Christopher - was a small black kitten that came home with me with some mild cold symptoms and then stopped eating and continued to get sick. Despite medications, force feeding and fluids he just continued to get worse. Last week I had to make the hard decision to bring him back to the shelter to be euthanized. He was in pain and too weak to stand up anymore. I was devastated by this because he was not one of the sickest ones that I was prepared to lose. He is also the first of my fosters that did not make it. I wish him the best as he plays with all the other pets at the rainbow bridge.
Pumpkin and Patch - are two orphaned baby kittens brought in my animal control. They were about 2 weeks old. One was orange and one was calico. I took them home to bottle feed them for the first 48 hours that they were with the shelter. I am an emergency bottle fed foster person. Kittens that young have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock. I can not do this long term, but since I do not currently work, I have the ability to go in on short notice to pick up a bottle fed kitten and take care of it until one of the regular bottle fed homes and come and get it. This was the case with pumpkin and patch. They are both doing well and growing in the new foster home.
Parker and Dana - These were two kittens born to a very very sick mother cat in the shelter. Her foster mother brought her in because she has gone into labor and already lost two kittens. We thought she was done delivery and set her up in a crate in an office to watch her. I left my drink in the office because I was distracted. When I went back a few hours later to get it, I could hear a kitten crying. I immediately searched for the kitten and found that the mother had managed to clean it and was keeping it warm, but it was not nursing. I grabbed a staff member who realized that the mother was so sick, she had no milk. We took the kitten, who I later named Parker, and I started bottle feeding it. I took it home that night and brought it back to the shelter the next day to continue bottle feeding while I was volunteering. Just as we were all getting ready to go home that night, I decided to check on the mom and tell her how her baby was doing. When I went it and went to pet mom, I saw a little tail sticking out from underneath her. It was another kitten. It was still wet and very cold. We managed to get it warm in the incubator and feed it a little. We all knew it was a long shot, but we had to try. That kitten I named Dana. Dana did survive the night with me since I took the incubator home, but I am sad to say that Dana did not make it once he/she was transferred to another foster home. Dana was just too sick and too little to survive outside an incubator. Parker however, is not only doing well, we were able to place him with a mother that just had a litter. The mother accepted him and treats him as one of her own which is the best thing for him. He and his new family is not with me, but I will update when I hear more. Parker and Dana's mom is also recovering slowly in one of the offices at the shelter.
Jaz, Simon, Sophie and Tink - these are the babies (who are over 8 weeks now) that have pneumonia for the second time in as many months. They are also the reason all of my other fosters were sent to other homes. We did not want the other to get pneumonia and could not take the chance that the babies would get exposed to even one more virus. They are slowly, very slowly, improving. It is still touch and go as to whether or not they will all pull through. They are on tons of medications and I am giving them IV fluids every day. Three of them are also still mostly feral and as you can imagine, all this medical care is not helping them learn to like humans. Sophie who was the runt of the litter is actually the healthiest and most social. I have high hopes that she will soon be well enough to go up for adoption. I think that Tink and Simon will pull through the illness, but am concerned about them being socialized the older they get. Jaz has lost a lot of weight and is very tiny. She is in the most danger of not making it through the pneumonia. They see the vet again this coming Friday. Depending on how they are doing, we will have to decide if we continue such intensive treatment, or if it is time to let them go. They have had intensive medical treatment for over a month now. Of course I want them to pull through and go to good homes, but at some point you have to think if we are treating them just to keep them alive because we do not want to lose them or if it is kinder to let them go. hey were actually looking a little better yesterday, so I am cautiously hopeful that we will have a positive outcome for them.
As I said - it has been crazy here in the animal house. I am sure you can see why I need a break. Although I have to say, even with everything that is going on lately, fostering is still one of the best, most rewarding things I have ever done. And I will be back with updates on these guys and information on new fosters once I start fostering again. I doubt I will be gone long. :)
9/27/09
Silvermst and the shelter
Silvermist is a little white Angora kitten with chocolate point markings. She is beautiful and has had a hard life so far. She was found alone in a local state forest at about 4 weeks of age. She has always had trouble with eating and came home with me to learn how to eat solid food and gain weight. At first I was feeding her with a medicine syringe while she learned to eat the wet cat food.
She never really was all that interested in eating and pretty much just laid around and slept. She did not play or run around like the other kittens I have had. She mostly wanted to sit on my roommate's chest and sleep. And while watching a little tiny white kitten sleep on the chest of a big tough burly guy is amusing to see, it was not quite normal. Being less active is normal for her breed, but she seemed more worn out than just relaxed.
She was one pound four ounces when I brought her home and I managed to get her up to 1 pound 9 ounces before she started losing weight for no known reason. This continued for a few days even though I resumed force feeding her. When she got down to 1 pound 2 ounces, I brought her back to the shelter for help. They decided to keep her to give her fluids twice a day and treat her for worms in the hopes that this would make her feel better.
After a few days, she was doing a little better and since she was craving attention, she came back home with me with medicine and instructions to watch her carefully. Well after only a day or two, it was obvious to me that she needed to go back to see the vet. She was trying to eat, but she was fighting off whatever worms she was dealing with and now she was showing signs of an eye infection and upper respiratory infection. I brought her right in because I was really concerned about her well being.
The shelter vets, who are always incredibly busy doing spay and neuter surgeries, fit her into their schedules to check her out just like they did when the babies were not doing well. The vet and the staff were just as concerned about her as I was and decided she better stay with them again for more fluids and they would continue the medication and force feeding that I was doing at home. At that point it was really a waiting game to see if Silvermist was strong enough to fight off all the problems she was dealing with. And she really needed to eat to get strong enough to survive.
Since I was so worried about her, I came in most every day that week and volunteered in the shelter. That allowed me to help out the shelter when they were short on volunteers and I got to check on Silvermist multiple times throughout the day. After a day or so the staff and I noticed that Silvermist perked up when I sat near her cage and talked to her. Eventually she even started to eat anytime I sat there and petted her. Apparently, she is a social eater and only likes to eat when "mom" is around. So, I spent every day there sitting by her cage for a few minutes as often as I could. It might have been a little weird looking, but if that is what she needed to get well, then that is what she would get. And the staff fully agreed and was wonderful about just walking around me without complaint while I was sitting in the doorway of their busy cat holding room.
Silvermist actually got well enough to come home with me again on Tuesday. I was initially concerned because she had not done well last time she came home and I was afraid that she was too timid to eat with the other cats. But, I am glad to say, she has done fine. For the first time since she came into the shelter and my home over a month ago, she is playing and chasing toys. She comes running when I open the can of cat food just like the other cats and runs away when she sees me with the medicine bottles. It is wonderful. She is still sick and has a way to go before she can be adopted, but she is on the mend finally.
And she has develop quite a few fans at the shelter. The staff and volunteers that got to know her while she was there were thrilled to hear that she is doing well. And the vet that has been watching her was also thrilled. That is what amazes me about the vets and staff at the shelter. They truly care about each and every one of the animals that comes through their doors. Of course, I am thrilled that Silvermist is doing well. She has been in my house for a while and I am quite attatched to her. But everyone at the shelter was just as thrilled as my family to hear that she wants to play and act like a normal kitten.
I have also really enjoyed the time I have spent volunteering in the shelter. I have learned a lot and gained a better understanding of the joys and challenges of shelter life. I really encourage anyone that loves animals to seek out your local shelter or rescue group and sign up to donate some of your time as a volunteer. You will not regret it.
She never really was all that interested in eating and pretty much just laid around and slept. She did not play or run around like the other kittens I have had. She mostly wanted to sit on my roommate's chest and sleep. And while watching a little tiny white kitten sleep on the chest of a big tough burly guy is amusing to see, it was not quite normal. Being less active is normal for her breed, but she seemed more worn out than just relaxed.
She was one pound four ounces when I brought her home and I managed to get her up to 1 pound 9 ounces before she started losing weight for no known reason. This continued for a few days even though I resumed force feeding her. When she got down to 1 pound 2 ounces, I brought her back to the shelter for help. They decided to keep her to give her fluids twice a day and treat her for worms in the hopes that this would make her feel better.
After a few days, she was doing a little better and since she was craving attention, she came back home with me with medicine and instructions to watch her carefully. Well after only a day or two, it was obvious to me that she needed to go back to see the vet. She was trying to eat, but she was fighting off whatever worms she was dealing with and now she was showing signs of an eye infection and upper respiratory infection. I brought her right in because I was really concerned about her well being.
The shelter vets, who are always incredibly busy doing spay and neuter surgeries, fit her into their schedules to check her out just like they did when the babies were not doing well. The vet and the staff were just as concerned about her as I was and decided she better stay with them again for more fluids and they would continue the medication and force feeding that I was doing at home. At that point it was really a waiting game to see if Silvermist was strong enough to fight off all the problems she was dealing with. And she really needed to eat to get strong enough to survive.
Since I was so worried about her, I came in most every day that week and volunteered in the shelter. That allowed me to help out the shelter when they were short on volunteers and I got to check on Silvermist multiple times throughout the day. After a day or so the staff and I noticed that Silvermist perked up when I sat near her cage and talked to her. Eventually she even started to eat anytime I sat there and petted her. Apparently, she is a social eater and only likes to eat when "mom" is around. So, I spent every day there sitting by her cage for a few minutes as often as I could. It might have been a little weird looking, but if that is what she needed to get well, then that is what she would get. And the staff fully agreed and was wonderful about just walking around me without complaint while I was sitting in the doorway of their busy cat holding room.
Silvermist actually got well enough to come home with me again on Tuesday. I was initially concerned because she had not done well last time she came home and I was afraid that she was too timid to eat with the other cats. But, I am glad to say, she has done fine. For the first time since she came into the shelter and my home over a month ago, she is playing and chasing toys. She comes running when I open the can of cat food just like the other cats and runs away when she sees me with the medicine bottles. It is wonderful. She is still sick and has a way to go before she can be adopted, but she is on the mend finally.
And she has develop quite a few fans at the shelter. The staff and volunteers that got to know her while she was there were thrilled to hear that she is doing well. And the vet that has been watching her was also thrilled. That is what amazes me about the vets and staff at the shelter. They truly care about each and every one of the animals that comes through their doors. Of course, I am thrilled that Silvermist is doing well. She has been in my house for a while and I am quite attatched to her. But everyone at the shelter was just as thrilled as my family to hear that she wants to play and act like a normal kitten.
I have also really enjoyed the time I have spent volunteering in the shelter. I have learned a lot and gained a better understanding of the joys and challenges of shelter life. I really encourage anyone that loves animals to seek out your local shelter or rescue group and sign up to donate some of your time as a volunteer. You will not regret it.
Where are we now?
Sorry to have been away so long. Between caring for my sick foster kitties and volunteering in the shelter, I have not had the time to post. So here is an update on how everything and everyone is doing:
Walk for Animals - This went great! It was a beautiful day and there were tons of people and dogs there to enjoy it. Although having to get up at 6:30 to drive about an hour to get to the event at 8AM for set-up was not my favorite thing since I am so not a morning person, it was worth it. Everything went smoothly and the shelter was able to raise almost $64,000 to help all the wonderful animals in our care.
Jordan and Jack - Have both finished with their socialization and returned to the shelter for their neuter surgeries. The good news is that both of them were adopted the same day that they moved on to the adoption floor and are now happily in their forever homes!
Jewel and Midnight - these are two kittens that I took into foster since the last time I posted. Jewel is a little gray and white cutie and Midnight (as you can probably guess) is all black. They were basically waiting in a cage at the shelter until they could be spayed. Jewel was a little too light and Midnight was just not on the schedule until the end of the week. Since cage space is so tight, I offered to take them home and let them stay with me until their surgery dates. Both have been spayed by this time. Midnight was adopted right away. Jewel also has someone who is interested in adopting her, but after a day in the shelter, she started showing signs of an upper respiratory infection and so she needs medicine before she can go home. I saw her in the isolation room today and offered to take her back home until she is well. So she will stay with me a little longer and then go back to the shelter for adoption.
The Babies - a.k.a Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. They are not really babies anymore. They are actually close to 8 weeks old which is normally the time they would go back to the shelter for adoption. However, Simon and Tink have been fighting pneumonia this whole time and Sophie and Jaz have been recovering from upper respiratory infections so they are not healthy enough or big enough to go up for adoption yet. Thankfully, they all seem to have gotten through the worst of their health problems and just need a little more time to get completely well. And since they were from a larger litter, they also need to gain more weight.
Christopher - He is also a new foster that came home with me to recover from an upper respiratory infection. Since all my other fosters have them, it is safe for him to be with me and I certainly know how to take care of a kitten with this condition. It is just much nicer for him to recover in a home with other kittens rather than stay in the shelter in a cage by himself so he does not give his cold to the other kittens.
And since this post is getting rather long, I will do another post to update you on Silvermist, my other foster that I have not talked about here. And I promise that I will be back soon with photos of all the new arrivals since we finally have a new digital camera. Now, I just have to figure out how to get the photos off the new camera and onto the computer. :)
Walk for Animals - This went great! It was a beautiful day and there were tons of people and dogs there to enjoy it. Although having to get up at 6:30 to drive about an hour to get to the event at 8AM for set-up was not my favorite thing since I am so not a morning person, it was worth it. Everything went smoothly and the shelter was able to raise almost $64,000 to help all the wonderful animals in our care.
Jordan and Jack - Have both finished with their socialization and returned to the shelter for their neuter surgeries. The good news is that both of them were adopted the same day that they moved on to the adoption floor and are now happily in their forever homes!
Jewel and Midnight - these are two kittens that I took into foster since the last time I posted. Jewel is a little gray and white cutie and Midnight (as you can probably guess) is all black. They were basically waiting in a cage at the shelter until they could be spayed. Jewel was a little too light and Midnight was just not on the schedule until the end of the week. Since cage space is so tight, I offered to take them home and let them stay with me until their surgery dates. Both have been spayed by this time. Midnight was adopted right away. Jewel also has someone who is interested in adopting her, but after a day in the shelter, she started showing signs of an upper respiratory infection and so she needs medicine before she can go home. I saw her in the isolation room today and offered to take her back home until she is well. So she will stay with me a little longer and then go back to the shelter for adoption.
The Babies - a.k.a Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. They are not really babies anymore. They are actually close to 8 weeks old which is normally the time they would go back to the shelter for adoption. However, Simon and Tink have been fighting pneumonia this whole time and Sophie and Jaz have been recovering from upper respiratory infections so they are not healthy enough or big enough to go up for adoption yet. Thankfully, they all seem to have gotten through the worst of their health problems and just need a little more time to get completely well. And since they were from a larger litter, they also need to gain more weight.
Christopher - He is also a new foster that came home with me to recover from an upper respiratory infection. Since all my other fosters have them, it is safe for him to be with me and I certainly know how to take care of a kitten with this condition. It is just much nicer for him to recover in a home with other kittens rather than stay in the shelter in a cage by himself so he does not give his cold to the other kittens.
And since this post is getting rather long, I will do another post to update you on Silvermist, my other foster that I have not talked about here. And I promise that I will be back soon with photos of all the new arrivals since we finally have a new digital camera. Now, I just have to figure out how to get the photos off the new camera and onto the computer. :)
9/7/09
Sneezing, Wheezing and Fundraising
I just wanted to give an update on how things are with my fosters. The majority of them have been sick and I have been trying to raise funds for the shelter's charity walk so I have not had much time to post here.
Jordan and Jack are my 9-10 week old former feral fosters. Their socialization has come along pretty well. I think I will be able to bring Jack in this week to be neutered. They will see how he does with them. If he stays social, they will put him up for adoption. If he acts feral with them, he will come back home to stay with me for a little longer. I think he will be fine though. Jordan is a little bit behind his brother in socialization because he has a cold and I have to give him medication. He will not be truly ready for adoption until he gets over the cold and learns that humans do not always approach you to stick medicine in your mouth.
Silvermist is now about 7 weeks old but is not gaining any more weight. I am currently force feeding her with a medicine syringe to get her to put on some weight. She does not appear to have any health issues so we do not know why she is not interested in eating on her own. It will just be a wait and see sort of thing. Hopefully she will put on some weight and begin eating more soon.
The babies are about 5 weeks old now. I started out with 3 of them, went to 4 and am now down to 2. How does that work, you ask? They were a litter of 5 that needed to be syringe fed until they learned to eat solid food. This is a lot of work, so the shelter sent 3 home with me and 2 home with another foster family. After about a week, the other foster family lost one of their two kittens. She just faded away. Since the remaining kitten was now all alone, she came home with me. So then I had Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. Well Simon started getting sick and the medicine was not helping him. On Friday, the vet said that he had pneumonia and had to stay at the shelter because he needs daily injections to try and get over the pneumonia. On Sunday when I checked on the remaining three, Tink was breathing badly like Simon had, so I brought her in. She also had to stay at the shelter for the same treatment. Now I just have Jaz and Sophie and I am really hoping that they do not end up with symptoms soon too. It could just be bad luck or there could have been something wrong with this whole litter when it was born. We just do not know.
On top of all this I am try to raise money for the shelter's charity walk because without donations they can not give babies like this such extensive medical care and would have to think about putting them to sleep for the expense rather than just considering the animals quality of life. I am not doing so great so far with fundraising because my disabilities make it tough to get out of the house all that much to try and find people to ask. I have only raised $70 so far and the walk is on the 13th. But every little bit helps and if I had to pick between succeeding in my fundraising efforts and succeeding in getting all my current fosters healthy and adopted, well then there is no contests. The fosters win every time. :o)
To donate to my fundraising efforts, click here. I will update on the babies conditions as I have time and/or information.
Jordan and Jack are my 9-10 week old former feral fosters. Their socialization has come along pretty well. I think I will be able to bring Jack in this week to be neutered. They will see how he does with them. If he stays social, they will put him up for adoption. If he acts feral with them, he will come back home to stay with me for a little longer. I think he will be fine though. Jordan is a little bit behind his brother in socialization because he has a cold and I have to give him medication. He will not be truly ready for adoption until he gets over the cold and learns that humans do not always approach you to stick medicine in your mouth.
Silvermist is now about 7 weeks old but is not gaining any more weight. I am currently force feeding her with a medicine syringe to get her to put on some weight. She does not appear to have any health issues so we do not know why she is not interested in eating on her own. It will just be a wait and see sort of thing. Hopefully she will put on some weight and begin eating more soon.
The babies are about 5 weeks old now. I started out with 3 of them, went to 4 and am now down to 2. How does that work, you ask? They were a litter of 5 that needed to be syringe fed until they learned to eat solid food. This is a lot of work, so the shelter sent 3 home with me and 2 home with another foster family. After about a week, the other foster family lost one of their two kittens. She just faded away. Since the remaining kitten was now all alone, she came home with me. So then I had Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. Well Simon started getting sick and the medicine was not helping him. On Friday, the vet said that he had pneumonia and had to stay at the shelter because he needs daily injections to try and get over the pneumonia. On Sunday when I checked on the remaining three, Tink was breathing badly like Simon had, so I brought her in. She also had to stay at the shelter for the same treatment. Now I just have Jaz and Sophie and I am really hoping that they do not end up with symptoms soon too. It could just be bad luck or there could have been something wrong with this whole litter when it was born. We just do not know.
On top of all this I am try to raise money for the shelter's charity walk because without donations they can not give babies like this such extensive medical care and would have to think about putting them to sleep for the expense rather than just considering the animals quality of life. I am not doing so great so far with fundraising because my disabilities make it tough to get out of the house all that much to try and find people to ask. I have only raised $70 so far and the walk is on the 13th. But every little bit helps and if I had to pick between succeeding in my fundraising efforts and succeeding in getting all my current fosters healthy and adopted, well then there is no contests. The fosters win every time. :o)
To donate to my fundraising efforts, click here. I will update on the babies conditions as I have time and/or information.
8/30/09
Walking in Spirit - Please Sponsor Me
Anyone who reads this blog or who knows me in real life has learned by now how much I love being a foster mother to the various cats and kittens that have come through our home this year. But what many of you may not know is why I got into fostering in the first place.
Due to various health conditions, I have not been able to work since early 2005. Since I love animals and could not work, I wanted to volunteer. But I quickly found out that I was not physically up to going into the shelter even once a week because in order to drive I have to skip my medications and when I do that I am too sore and weak to be of much use at the shelter. Fostering was the perfect compromise because I could care for the foster cats at home without needing to drive very often. I was thrilled to find a way to help even with my limitations. There is just one thing that I have wanted to do for a long time and still can not do.
Many charities that I care about often have fundraising walks where people can sponsor you and then you go and walk. I am sure that you are all familiar with the concept, so I won't go into details. One walk that I really had hoped to be able to do is a walk for the shelter I foster for - The MSPCA Walk for Animals 2009. People will be walking with their dogs to raise money for the shelter.
I almost signed up to walk, but the reality is that even though it is a short walk, I am still just not physically capable of doing it. I am going to be there on the day of the walk as a volunteer because they have found me something I can do sitting down, but I was still disappointed that I could not join in the walking.
Then that made me think: I know that I am not the only one out there that can not do charity walks. There are others like me that are not up to the walking, or those who can not walk at all. People whose schedules are too busy, but wish they could find the time. And people who have cats, birds, hamsters and other pets that don't really go for a walk. So I have decide to reach out to my friends, family and cyber friends and ask you to sponsor me as I walk in spirit for this really good cause. With more and more animals being surrendered to the shelter every day due to the economy, they need help now more than ever.
To make a donation, no matter how small, please visit my participant page and donate online. The team I have joined is the Fabulous Foster Failures. Or to donate by mail, send a check to: MSPCA Walk for Animals350 S. Huntington Ave.Boston, MA, 02130 and put the team name of Fabulous Foster Failures in the note section. Thanks for your help.
Due to various health conditions, I have not been able to work since early 2005. Since I love animals and could not work, I wanted to volunteer. But I quickly found out that I was not physically up to going into the shelter even once a week because in order to drive I have to skip my medications and when I do that I am too sore and weak to be of much use at the shelter. Fostering was the perfect compromise because I could care for the foster cats at home without needing to drive very often. I was thrilled to find a way to help even with my limitations. There is just one thing that I have wanted to do for a long time and still can not do.
Many charities that I care about often have fundraising walks where people can sponsor you and then you go and walk. I am sure that you are all familiar with the concept, so I won't go into details. One walk that I really had hoped to be able to do is a walk for the shelter I foster for - The MSPCA Walk for Animals 2009. People will be walking with their dogs to raise money for the shelter.
I almost signed up to walk, but the reality is that even though it is a short walk, I am still just not physically capable of doing it. I am going to be there on the day of the walk as a volunteer because they have found me something I can do sitting down, but I was still disappointed that I could not join in the walking.
Then that made me think: I know that I am not the only one out there that can not do charity walks. There are others like me that are not up to the walking, or those who can not walk at all. People whose schedules are too busy, but wish they could find the time. And people who have cats, birds, hamsters and other pets that don't really go for a walk. So I have decide to reach out to my friends, family and cyber friends and ask you to sponsor me as I walk in spirit for this really good cause. With more and more animals being surrendered to the shelter every day due to the economy, they need help now more than ever.
To make a donation, no matter how small, please visit my participant page and donate online. The team I have joined is the Fabulous Foster Failures. Or to donate by mail, send a check to: MSPCA Walk for Animals350 S. Huntington Ave.Boston, MA, 02130 and put the team name of Fabulous Foster Failures in the note section. Thanks for your help.
8/26/09
Simon Says Hiss
I have three more new foster kittens. Two girls and one boy. They are so adorable! They are feral kittens that are just three weeks old. At this age they are just terrified more than truly feral and aggressive. I am currently teaching them how to eat solid food. This requires feeding them the food through a medicine syringe until they understand that it is food and then slowly getting them used to eating from a plate. So far they are doing OK and gaining weight even though they also have colds like my other foster kittens. My older feral foster that was feeling so poorly is doing much better now though, so that is good.
So now I have six sneezing kitten ranging in age from three weeks to nine weeks. They are Jordan, Jack, Silvermist, Jaz, Sophie and Simon. Simon is the only boy out of the three young ones and he does tend to hiss whenever I come near him, but when he is only 15 oz., the hissing is so cute it just makes me laugh.
On a side note, we lost our camera recently so until we get the new one that we ordered, this blog will be pictureless. But I promise to post pictures of all the new arrivals once the new camera is in my hands.
So now I have six sneezing kitten ranging in age from three weeks to nine weeks. They are Jordan, Jack, Silvermist, Jaz, Sophie and Simon. Simon is the only boy out of the three young ones and he does tend to hiss whenever I come near him, but when he is only 15 oz., the hissing is so cute it just makes me laugh.
On a side note, we lost our camera recently so until we get the new one that we ordered, this blog will be pictureless. But I promise to post pictures of all the new arrivals once the new camera is in my hands.
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